Holland & Barrett Trial Store

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Holland & Barrett is the largest health food retailer in the UK, as well as the leading retailer of vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements. It is a shop I go to regularly because of its great prices, great products, and great customer service.



Until recently, my closest Holland & Barrett was in Wimbledon. As someone who has a tendency to load herself up like a pack mule, I often end up leaving the shop with two bags of heavy shopping that I have to lug back home. If I'm being really stupid, then I'll walk the whole half-hour journey.



But now that may no longer be an issue, as within the last couple of months a new Holland & Barrett has opened up at the Tandem Centre in Colliers Wood, making it as convenient to me as a local corner shop.



It was the other day that I paid my first visit, expecting to see the same usual products that I love, but to my surprise, I saw a whole new range. Almost immediately upon entering, a member of staff asked me if I needed help with anything, and I enquired about the new stock. She told me that this was a trial store - a branch that was branching out into new territory. She said it was the first of its kind on this side of the river. Whether she was referring to the Wandle or the Thames I wasn't quite sure, but it's neither here nor there really.



Intrigued, I made my way around to see what was on offer. First up was a range of aromatherapy products, such as essential oils. There were numerous scents to choose from for £4.99. If you really can't find what you want, they also sell empty bottles for you to mix your own oils together. I thought that these were rather expensive though; at £2.99, that means that the bottle costs more than the essential oil itself.



Next to the essential oils was a pick 'n' mix of colourful, scented wax melts. You put these on top of a tea-light stand (also available) and let the candle melt them to give off an aroma. By choosing your own, you can combine different scents to create your own aroma. I think these are a fabulous gift idea.



Moving on to skin care, there were lots of different face and hand creams, featuring those popular so-called miracle ingredients such as coconut oil, shea butter, tea tree oil, cocoa butter, aloe vera etc.



One of the products that took my interest was called 'PureDerm': strips that are specially designed to fit your forehead, nose, or chin. They are meant to clean your pores and remove blackheads. After one use, my skin definitely felt softer and smoother; whether or not it is getting rid of my blackheads, I'm not sure yet. Time will tell.



The final new addition was fruit & nut pick 'n' mix. This is an alternative to buying the pre-packaged products, but at £2 per 100g are about twice as expensive. Most of these products are the same - cranberries, dates, banana coins, etc, but some of the nuts have been flavoured with ingredients such as chilli, which are not necessarily available in the pre-made bags. It is also the opportunity to get a mix of things, rather than having to get separate bags of everything. I did buy some dried apricots, but I must admit, did not find them as nice as the pre-packed ones.



As well as all their new items, you can still find all their regular products available as well. I enjoyed looking at all the new things on offer, and think they looked great, but to be honest, I'm not sure whether or not I would actually bother buying any of them unless they were for a gift. That's simply because I personally don't use aromatherapy or candles, but for those who do, there's definitely something to take your fancy.

#colliers_wood
#health_beauty
#health_fitness
#merton
#morden
#shopping
%wnlondon